A/C with the Top Open?
 

Living in Miami, it can get very warm and humid in the Summer. My independent mechanic suggests I never run the air conditioner with the top open, says the condensation will run the dash. Anyone else agree or disagree? Coming to conclusion about his will greatly impact how I use the car (2003Base). Thanks in advance.

I run my AC often with the top down which is around 80% of the time I am driving the car

Condensation on the dash ???

I run the A/C with top down when it's really hot out sometimes. Dash is fine.

You may find one of the under dash duct pipes condenses water on i's outside. I found this dripped onto my feet while driving but only after several hours of roof down AC off in 25C plus heat.

Same for me.

I find that here in Fl. july and august can be too hot for top down at slower speeds. My car is triple black which doesnt help. A.C. is ok but I have fond that I have to put windows up as well as having all windscreens in place so I just put the top up and dont get sunburned. My problem with A.C. is loss of H.P. which is why my top is down 99% of the time. Rain and extreme heat and I95 ....top up!

Loss of power due to AC should be negligible in a Boxster.

A/C with top down
 

I am in South Florida and run the A/C with the top down during summer months too. No issues whatsoever.

Sometimes I see condensation on the bottom 1" of windshield but not the dash.

I use the AC with the top down all the time here in Texas during the summer, no issues. I get condensation once in awhile but it is not going to ruin anything.

loss of HP, good grief!!
Yes, its does put more load on the engine, but for street driving it don't matter at all, bubba

If you have a vinyl dash I wouldn't worry about it. If your dash is leather, then maybe he is a little correct. The front of the dash is known to shrink on leather dashes. I always thought it was more from the sun but that might have something to do with it too.

I've seen all types of Porsches with leather dashes (coupes and cabs) that have wrinkled, shrinked up leather near the glass. My conclusion was that it was from the use of the front defroster and moisture buildup, but using the AC could do it too I guess.

This is the only reason I haven't swapped out my vinyl dashboard for a leather one.

OP: If you have a leather dashboard, keep an eye on this area and wipe it down if you see moisture accumulating there. It's an expensive labor cost just to remove the dash to work on the leather or put a new one in ($$$). In Houston, I have no choice but to run the AC for 11 months out of the year top up or down, but it has not been a problem on my vinyl dashboard.

If my AC worked, I would use it with the top down here in N. FL. Spring project... ($$$)
Any Jacksonville Porsche owners know a reliable and reasonable AC shop? Blows ambient temp air. Charged it, but no go...

I appreciate the feedback and will go ahead and run the a/c but check the leather periodically.

More than likely the foam has left your heater box. I just replaced the foam in mine. Without the foam, a good portion of the cold air from the AC evaporator runs through the heater core. The heater core always has hot coolant running though it when the engine is running so you get lukewarm AC.

After replacing the foam in mine it was apparent that a partial fix is possible by removing the heater core and putting foam (or perhaps easier, aluminum AC tape) on the heater door to cover the holes in the door you can see. Depending on how good a job you can do covering the holes that's at best about an 85% solution as you likely wont get a complete seal. Additionally there is another door that is not visible with the heater core out. This door's job is to shut off all the cabin vents to direct air to the defrost or foot well vents. You can just close all the manual vents on the dash to do this if you want more defrost and less air in your face.

Or, you can opt to remove then entire dashboard and pull and disassemble the heater box.

How difficult was it to replace the foam? I just bought a 99 boxster and it blows small chunks of foam out the dash vents intermittently. My a/c blows cool air. With the top and windows closed it barely can keep up. Set at 71°F in auto mode the fan never slows down. I have tried both normal and recirculate settings. Manual mode is the same. I live in GA and it has been 90°F here.

Follow this tread. I just did mine last night, took 3 hours start to finish. Most of the time was spent cleaning off the old foam on the flaps and getting the holes taped up.

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/67109-small-foam-pieces-blowing-vents.html

I live in Louisiana...
 

...super freaking humid.

I run the AC with the top down all of the time.

Just make sure you are not in "recirculating" mode with the top down. always use outside air when the top is down. if you see that circle of arrows, turn it off.

:cheers: